


Vienna Waits For You

by ConsiderableColors



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Like a few mentions of blood- if you watch the show you'll be fine, Malcolm Bright Gets a Hug, Malcolm Bright Needs a Hug, Non-Graphic Violence, Parent Gil Arroyo, Protective Gil Arroyo, Young Malcolm Bright
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24108919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConsiderableColors/pseuds/ConsiderableColors
Summary: He's sitting behind the counter, reading some horror-thriller, when the door slams open.Gil's head jerks up to meet the eyes of a little boy, shaking like a leaf. Gil puts the book down, slowly standing and walking over."You okay, kid?"The boy looks back towards the door, eyes wide, then turns back. "Can I stay here?"Gil quirks a brow. "You're a little young, don't you think?"Or, a different way for the Arroyos to meet the Whitlys.Title taken from Vienna by Billy Joel.
Relationships: Gil Arroyo & Jessica Whitly, Gil Arroyo & Malcolm Bright, Gil Arroyo/Jackie Arroyo, Malcolm Bright & Jessica Whitly
Comments: 6
Kudos: 85





	Vienna Waits For You

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write a Prodigal Son fic for months now. I thought it would be some classic Malcolm whump, maybe some Brightwell, a little Sunshine. 
> 
> Instead, I was listening to Billy Joel on shuffle and had dad!Gil feelings over Vienna. Then, Piano Man played. So here. Have a bar AU. Not at all what I thought I'd be writing, but hopefully you enjoy!

When he first comes by, Gil's the only one on staff. This is because it's 10 AM on a Tuesday, which isn't exactly the prime time for a bar. However, the very first rule his wife had decided, back when this place was just a dingy abandoned building their key almost never worked on, was that the bar would always be open. 

"I want this to be a space for people," Jackie had whispered to him, late one night. "Not for us. Something that's always there, for anyone who needs it."

"For anyone that needs a two-dollar Margarita at 5 in the morning?"

Jackie had shoved him, a wide grin on her face. 

And while the bar rarely gets patrons at any time except night, Gil loves his wife to pieces, and has no problem staying just in case. He's sitting behind the counter, reading some horror-thriller, when the door slams open.

Gil's head jerks up to meet the eyes of a little boy, shaking like a leaf. Gil puts the book down, slowly standing and walking over.

"You okay, kid?"

The boy looks back towards the door, eyes wide, then turns back. "Can I stay here?"

Gil quirks a brow. "You're a little young, don't you think?"

The boy starts fumbling for his pockets. "I'll buy something, if that's the problem. How much for a water? Actually, here." The boy pulls out- what the fuck- a 50 dollar bill, and shoves it into Gil's hands. 

"Woah. Easy." He crouches down, eyes meeting the boy. "Water's on the house, okay? I'll get you one, and while you drink it, you can give me your parents' number and I'll call them, okay?"

He shakes his head quickly. "My mom'll be furious."

"Okay... How about your dad?" 

His face falls even more.

"Okay. Okay. Is there anyone else I can call?"

"No. There's no one else."

Gil sighs heavily. "Well, I have to call someone. How about we call your mother, and I talk to her first? That way I get the brunt of the anger, huh?" 

Slowly, cautiously, the boy looks up at him. "Okay."

Gil offers him what he hopes is a reassuring smile, and stands. "I'm Gil, okay?"

"I'm Malcolm."

"Well, Malcolm, it's nice to meet you."

Once Gil's called, it takes about an hour before the door slams open again. A woman comes in, dressed to the nines and walking out of an entire limo. Her face is instantly recognizable, but the question of, "Aren't you Jessica Whitly?" dies on his tongue as the woman shrieks, "Malcolm Whitly! Out here, now!"

The boy's head peers out from under the counter, and she runs over.

"What were you thinking?! I get a call from your school that you have LEFT, and they don't know where you are, that you have LEFT THE CAMPUS- and you didn't even call me, Malcolm! I called YOU- dozens of times! Why do you have a phone?! I was worried to death, I didn't know what had happened! This is NOT like you, what on Earth were you doing skipping school?!"

Malcolm curls into himself, and mutters, "They put ketchup all over my locker."

"They- what?" 

"I went to get my books, and I opened my locker, and-" He sniffs, eyes clenching shut. "And there was ketchup everywhere, that looked like blood, and all these plastic skeletons, and they wrote a bunch of stuff-"

Jessica's face falls.

"And I started remembering stuff really quickly, and when it stopped, everyone was staring and talking, and Mr. Meyers came out, and I tried to tell him what happened, but he just got mad and said that I was making a scene and trying to interrupt everything, cause he doesn't like me anyway, and the kids kept talking and calling me a freak, and I can't go back there, Mom, I just can't."

"Oh, baby..." She pulls him into a hug, running fingers through his hair. "It's alright. It's not your fault. Darling, why didn't you call me?"

"I didn't want you to get mad..."

She sighs. "I'm not mad. I was worried, that's all. But it's alright. I'll make sure-"

"There's no point." Malcolm's hands grab onto his shirt, twisting it. "Nothing's ever going to work."

"Don't say that, Malcolm. We'll find something. I promise."

Jessica hugs him tighter, and Gil turns away from the scene, full of guilt for watching. He glances around the bar, desperate for something that could possibly make the kid feel better. Then, far in the back, he sees the bowl of candy left over from their Halloween decorations. He walks over, gently tapping Malcom's shoulder. He removes his head from his mother's neck, looking up at Gil.

"I'm really sorry, kid. I know it's not much, but..." He holds out a lollipop.

Malcom's eyes brighten, if only a little. "Those are my favorite. Mrs. Gabrielle always has them."

"Yeah? I've got plenty more, if you'd like to take some back home." 

Malcolm turns to Jessica. "Can we?"

"Just a few, darling. But we need to get you back to school."

He immediately looks panicked. "You can't!"

"I'll talk it over with your teachers, make sure this doesn't happen again. We'll find whoever did that to you, and I'll tell Mr. Meyers about your flashbacks. I'll make sure everything is sorted."

"Please don't make me go back, Mom."

Jessica rubs his back. "Malcom, honey, we're running out of options. This school is already out of your district, and if we have you going any further, we'll have to move. You know we can't do that."

Malcolm wilts. "But what if it happens again?"

"I'll come pick you up."

"But I'll be stuck there an hour waiting for you!" 

"Well, I don't know what else to tell you!"

"He could always come here," Gil offers.

The pair turns to him.

"Absolutely not," Jessica says quickly. "I'm not letting my son sit around in a pub, sitting next to a drunkard!"

"I always do at home..." 

Jessica whips around to look at Malcolm, flushed. 

Gil steps in. "Your son is the first one to show up around this time of day in months. No one else will be coming in. And if they do, I'll make sure to keep him away from them. There's a break room in the back. He can stay there."

"Listen, Mr..."

"Arroyo. But just Gil is fine."

"Mr. Arroyo," She emphasizes, "I appreciate you calling, and looking after Malcolm, but I couldn't ask you to do that. He's not your son, nor is he your responsibility."

"Please, Mom?" 

Jessica looks down.

Malcolm pushes his bangs out of his face. "He was really nice to me. No one's ever nice to me." 

She falters. "Darling..."

"Please? I'll try and go back, but if something happens, I wanna come here. Then we both get what we want, right?" 

She sighs. "Fine. Alright. But we are trying our hardest to go back to classes and proceed normally, yes?"

"Yes." 

"Good. Come on, we need to go before you've missed another period." 

They head towards the door, when Malcolm turns back and waves. "Bye, Gil."

Gil just stares a moment, dumbfounded by everything that's happened, before he smiles softly. "Bye, kid. Good luck."

They leave, limo driving away, and Gil reaches for his phone.

"Hi, honey. Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. But you're going to be really upset you were getting groceries and missed this."

"Missed what?" 

Gil smiles. "Someone needed a bar at 10 AM on a Tuesday. Add those Dum-Dums we got for Halloween to the shopping list, huh?"

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is considerablecolors if you'd like to stop by!


End file.
